Fox News Channel

When Sarah Palin abruptly stepped down as Alaska governor in July before the end of her first term, many questioned how she could maintain a national presence without the platform of elected office. That hasn't proven a problem for the onetime Republican vice presidential nominee, who has kept herself at the center of political debate with a bestselling book, an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and controversial Facebook postings. Now Palin has found another way to stay in the spotlight: by signing on as a contributor for the top-rated Fox News Channel.

With only hours to go until their current contract expires, News Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. were still trying to hammer out a new deal for the cable system operator to carry News Corp.'s Fox TV stations and several of its cable networks. The likelihood of a new accord before today's midnight deadline appeared to be quickly diminishing, and the possibility was increasing that millions of Time Warner subscribers could see Fox shows disappear from their TV screens. On Wednesday, News Corp.

There's finally some new life in old media. After pummeling traditional media companies for nearly two years, the advertising recession is showing signs of a recovery. TV networks -- including Fox, CBS and ABC and such leading cable channels as TNT, TBS, USA, Bravo and Fox News Channel -- have benefited the most as advertisers have been snapping up available commercial spots and agreeing to pay significantly higher prices than they did just five months ago. "In challenging times, people go back to what they know, and what they know best is television," said David Levy, president of sales for Turner Entertainment, which includes TNT and TBS. "It is a little too early to declare victory, but the market is definitely improving."

Glenn Beck wants to become . . . a community organizer. The voluble Fox News television host says he hopes to transform his personal celebrity into political action and has begun to assemble a movement to "change America's course." Beck announced his intentions at a weekend rally at a retirement community outside Orlando, Fla., where he was promoting his new book, "Arguing With Idiots." He continued outlining his ideas during his radio and TV shows Monday. "America, we cannot wait for a leader anymore," Beck said.

In an expected development, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn is stepping down after a brief tenure marked by a dust-up with Fox News Channel over its coverage. She will be succeeded by her deputy, Dan Pfeiffer. Dunn joined the administration in the spring with the understanding that she would stay only a few months because of family considerations. In her time with the Obama administration, she came to epitomize a more combative White House approach in dealing with critics.

At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration. The Democratic strategist said that shortly after an appearance on Fox, he got a phone call from a White House official telling him not to be a guest on the show again. The call had an intimidating tone, he said.

White House versus Fox News eye gouging has been all the rage in recent days. The Obama administration calls the cable outlet a partisan political organ. Fox retorts that the president can't take a fair punch. Fox says just check its news programs -- filled with "fair and balanced" coverage -- and don't peg its reputation solely on the work of commentators like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. The debate over the meaning of Fox News has become so routine, and so routinely partisan, that one hesitates to join the fray again.

It's been a long time since Fox News, which avidly cultivates its outsider status, got to play the underdog. But after White House aides recently labeled the top-rated cable news channel "a wing of the Republican Party" and argued that it is not a news network, Fox News found itself back in a spot it relishes: firing back at a more powerful adversary. The salvos by administration officials have rallied liberals who complain that the channel has a conservative agenda. The activist group MoveOn instantly jumped in the fray, urging Democrats to stay off Fox News programs.